Shadowhunters - Iron Sisters - Review

This week on Shadowhunters, Clary and Izzy went to the Citadel to meet with the Iron Sisters. There they both underwent a purity trial to determine if they had anything demonic in them. Clary passed but Izzy failed because of the Yin Fen. Aldertree wants her to spy on Clary and Jace in exchange for more of the substance. Meanwhile, Aldertree tries to push Jace out of the Insitute and succeeds. Alec and Magnus have their first date. Simon and Maia look for Luke who is struggling after losing Jocelyn. They bond along the way. Sister Cleo turns on the Iron Sisters and reapplies her Circle rune. 

Awkward: What was supposed to be a romantic date for Magnus and Alec became a bit awkward when the subject of past relationships came up. I’m not sure why Magnus was so surprised that Lydia was his only ex. I mean, this is Alec we’re talking about. The guy who spent most of his life crushing on Jace. Dating wasn’t exactly a priority for him. Now, I may not know a whole lot about relationships but I do know that asking someone how many people they’ve been with never ends well. Especially not when that person has been around for centuries. It’s not like Magnus has ever hidden that he’s been with a lot of people, though. Last season he was trying to impress Alec with stories of his escapades. I’m glad they didn’t let it become a problem, though. Their final scene was very sweet until Jace rudely interrupted. 

Now we’re talking: A few weeks ago I complained that Maia seemed a lot different from book!Maia. But perhaps Jace just managed to bring out the worst in her because she had a lot more in common with the book version this week. I really like the dynamic between Simon and Maia (but I don’t ship it). Simon hasn’t really had anyone there for him lately, at least not anyone who understands what he’s going through. Maia may have the pack but even she seemed kind of like an outsider. I really liked how quickly she got past the whole vampire aspect. I expected her to have a lot more problems with it considering vampires and werewolves don’t exactly get along. I’m not sure where the writers are headed with Simon’s romantic life. If they’ll go through all of the relationships he had in the books or if they’ll skip a few. Personally, to me, it seems like Simon and Clary aren't going to happen anymore. Not now that Maia is in his life and Sebastian is headed our way in 2B. There just doesn’t seem to be time for it. Which I don’t mind, for once I would like a male/female friendship to remain romance free. As for Simon and Maia, can’t wait to see more of their dynamic. 

Most intriguing: I loved seeing the Iron Sisters, didn’t remember them being that badass. I like the addition of Cleo as Luke’s second sister. When I first read about this I was worried that she’d replace Amatis (who is kind of important in the future) because I didn’t remember Luke having another sister in the books. Cleo was actually Luke’s mother in the books, but I take it the writers wanted to make her character younger and more involved in the storyline so they made her his sister instead. Doesn’t matter to me, what does matter are her allegiances. I’m still not quite sure what it was about Clary’s visit that made her leave the Citadel and return to Valentine’s side. I wonder how much of what she told Clary about Valentine’s plan is true. When she was telling her Valentine’s plan, my mind kept saying “pretty sure that’s not true”. I know the writers will change things from the books, but I still can’t see them completely changing the larger storyline. Besides, if it was really that easy to get rid of everyone with demon blood, the Clave would’ve done it ages ago. 

Most disappointing: I’m pretty disappointed in Izzy this week. I mentioned last week that while I’m glad she’s getting her own storyline, I wish it hadn’t been this one. She must already be pretty addicted if she’s still taking the drug even after being warned by the Iron Sisters and knowing what it’s made of. Though to be fair, they kind of left out the important part. If you’re going to warn someone, be thorough. Instead of saying it won’t heal her they could have just said: “stop taking it before it kills you”. Also, didn’t they find it weird that someone at the Institute would have given her Yin Fen? Or was this just a ‘not my problem’ kind of situation? It’s a shame Tessa was no longer at the Citadel, she would’ve given it to her straight (and then would’ve gone down to the Institute to haul Aldertree into the Silent City. I’m sure Brother Zachariah would love to get his hands on him.). 

Character that needs a hug: Luke just can’t catch a break. First, he loses the love of his life and now he’s about to find out that his sister has returned to Valentine’s side (aka the side that wants to kill him). If there’s anything I wish the writers hadn’t changed, it would be Luke’s happiness. Because he didn’t have to deal with any of this in the books. I’m a bit worried about the character, though. The writers haven’t really been able to include him in any of the major storylines. He’s not really in a position to help the Shadowhunters thanks to Aldertree and even the werewolves don’t seem to care enough about him to actually look for him when he goes missing. Half the characters on the show probably don’t even remember he exists. I sure hope he gets his own storyline soon or at least gets included in one of the major ones. 

Best quotes: Simon: “Luke, it’s me, Simon. The guy you taught to shave. Go with the grain, right?” 
Luke: “When I heard Jocelyn die, I've never felt pain like that. Not since my family disowned me.” 
Alec: “Look, I don’t care how many people you’ve been with.” Magnus: “I don’t care how many people you haven’t been with.” 

That’s it for this week. Check in again next week for an all-new review and let me know in the comments what you thought of this week’s episode.